Bowness Park — Attraction in Calgary

There are two amazing parks - Bowness and Baker - opposite to each other on either bank of the Bow river.

Bowness Park is a waterfront spot on the southern bank of the Bow River. The two km long park that occupies over 74 acres of land is developed keeping picnickers and children in mind.

For picnic lovers, it has lots of picnic areas with hundreds of picnic tables, sheltered areas, firepits, and barbeques.

In order to amuse children, there are two playgrounds packed with latest equipment, a colossal wadding pool and spray park. The park, furthermore, has the most exciting feature to give a thrilling experience to children - a miniature train that runs until 18:00, seven days a week. The pleasing sound of the train horn can be heard from anywhere in the park.

Additionally, the park has a variety of myriad of trees carefully planted at a distance from each other, and there are lots of well-mowed and clean grassy grounds.

Also, there are a number of paved and unpaved but well-made trails for walkers, cyclists or skate boarders. For the people who want to enjoy various scenic views of the river, lagoon, children playing at the playgrounds, and various activities taking place in the park there are a lot of benches.

Moreover, from the boating club, one may rent a canoe, kayak, or paddle boat and enjoy boating in the beautiful lagoon and/or the river.

What's more, the park has a restaurant and a coffee house with plenty of sitting arrangements in front of the prepossessing pond, and it has plenty of clean and well-maintained washrooms.

The parking lot is enormous, so hundreds of vehicles can be parked; however, on weekends, it is extremely challenging to find a spot to park in a designated area. At 15:00 on a Sunday, my wife and I saw cars parked all over the place. Around 18:00, two parking enforcement officers, in uniform, were busy ticketing all the vehicles parked illegally.

Surprisingly, although there are many picnic areas, there is only one water faucet - very difficult to operate - in the proximity to picnic area 5 and the children play area on the west. I wish there were some easy-to-handle drinking water fountains near the washrooms or wherever possible.

All in all, the popular Bowness Park that is swarmed by people of all the age group is a boon to...

Beautiful inner-city park with kilometres of paved pathways and foot bridges that cross the river. Numerous campsites for various party sizes that can be booked in advance or used on a first-come basis. Facilities are modern and the park is clean. The pond is a lovely spot in both summer and winter months, and the cafe and restaurant are very nice fare.

For families, the wading pool and mini-train for kids are a highlight. Playground equipment for kids is wonderful for every age.

A few things to note before you go:

The price of booking a camp site with the City of Calgary can be quite expensive; and when we've done this in the past we have arrived to find that people don't necessarily pay attention to the signage, and often take over booked sites regardless. This leaves the booking holder with the responsibility to clear out other visitors, which, as you can imagine, doesn't always go well. I would recommend arriving well before your event to secure the desired area, and/or seeking out park staff to lend some authority to the removal of other guests.

Parking is consistently difficult to find. Even on regular summer days, there can be no spaces left and it can consume a lot of time driving in, navigating the parking lots looking for a spot and getting out again to park on the streets. On long weekends or holidays, it can be even worse, with the only free parking bring blocks away, and the access to the park from those side streets limited. I've had to walk a significant distance from my parked car to the entry of the park only to then walk back nearly the same distance just to get to a usable site on the inside...

Bowness Park has always been our favorite Fall spot. It's so beautiful that we keep coming back every year to do our yearly fall photos. It's also a great park during summer as there is a waterpark free for kids. Also, lots of people enjoy the bow river rafting with their own rafts or rental. Some people actually go swimming too, although I'm sure the water will be too cold. Winter is also beautiful as people can ice skate along the park. You can do a walking/biking loop trail from here to Baker Park, which is very easy. You will have to pass a nice bridge that connects the river. Path is open all season. There is also a path at the end (close to the green bridge) going up to the community residential area. People walk or even bike going up there. It is now fully developed. There is a lot of squirrel in the area, which is a treat for the kids. If you need to get drinks, there's a small shop that sells beverages, which is great, especially during the winter season. I love this park as it's very spacious and has a lot to offer. Also summer time if you get lucky, there's a guy that plays music and collects donations for a...